Looking Up When The Universe Becomes Inspiration
Looking Up When The Universe Becomes Inspiration
From graphic tees to eclipses, sci-fi and the next generation of exploration
There are plenty of places to find inspiration for a T-shirt.
A film.
A song.
A memory.
A hobby.
A conversation.
A piece of street art.
Or sometimes… you just have to look up.
At Cover Up Tops, inspiration has always come from a pretty wide range of places. While the brand has a strong love for sci-fi, cyberpunk, retro culture, technology, UFOs, gaming and the slightly strange side of life, the idea has always been to create T-shirts for people with different interests, personalities and passions.
And right now, there's certainly plenty happening in the world to get the creative circuits firing!
On 12 August 2026, a spectacular total solar eclipse crossed parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.
For those lucky enough to experience totality, the Moon completely covered the visible disc of the Sun, briefly revealing the Sun's normally hidden outer atmosphere — the corona. NASA scientists were among those studying the event from the ground, air and space.
And yes… I've been looking at it from a slightly different perspective:
Could that become a T-shirt?
The contrast between light and darkness, the incredible geometry of the Sun and Moon, the atmosphere surrounding an eclipse and the sheer scale of what we're witnessing are all fantastic creative ingredients.
It's another example of how science and design can collide to create something completely different.
Three T-Shirt Facts You might Not Know:
We've covered a fair few T-shirt facts in previous newsletters, so here are three different ones for this edition.
1. The T-shirt became a recognised garment before it became a fashion statement
Early T-shirts were primarily viewed as practical underwear or undershirts rather than something people would deliberately wear as an outer layer.
Over time, particularly through the 20th century, they transformed into everyday clothing — eventually becoming one of the world's most recognisable fashion canvases.
2. A T-shirt can be a surprisingly powerful piece of communication
Unlike many garments, the front and back of a T-shirt provide a relatively large, flat area specifically suited to graphics and text.
That helped turn the humble tee into a portable advertising board, political statement, souvenir, band advertisement, joke, artwork and identity marker.
Basically…
It's a billboard you can wear.
3. The blank T-shirt became a creative platform
The enormous growth of screen printing, DTG printing, heat transfer and other decoration technologies has allowed independent designers to create small runs and niche designs without needing the enormous production quantities historically associated with clothing manufacturing.
That's particularly important for independent brands.
It means a strange idea, niche hobby or completely bonkers concept can potentially become a real piece of clothing without requiring a giant fashion house behind it.
And that's exactly the sort of creative freedom I love.
Sci-Fi news:
If you're a sci-fi fan, there's plenty to keep an eye on.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 4 arrived in July, while Lanterns launched in August and brings the Green Lantern mythology into a darker, mystery-driven series.
Looking further ahead, Vision Quest is scheduled for October on Disney+, while Stranger Things: Tales From '85 – Season 2 is due on Netflix in October.
And for the cyberpunk crowd, there's one particularly interesting project to watch:
Neuromancer:
William Gibson's legendary cyberpunk novel is being adapted for Apple TV+, with a planned 2026/27 window.
Hacking, artificial intelligence, digital espionage and a dystopian future?
Yeah… you can probably see why that one catches my attention.
Meanwhile, Blade Runner 2099 is heading towards a 2027 release, continuing one of the most influential worlds in science-fiction cinema.
And if you enjoyed Project Hail Mary, the film is now available to stream on Prime Video after its successful theatrical run.
There's also something rather interesting coming from author Andy Weir later this year: Exoplanet, a sci-fi audio drama arriving on Audible on 5 November 2026, featuring a stellar voice cast including Anthony Mackie and Ariana DeBose.
Space News:
Space exploration certainly isn't slowing down.
On 30th August, NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center.
The Roman Space Telescope is designed to survey enormous areas of the universe in infrared light and investigate some of astronomy's biggest questions, including dark energy, dark matter, galaxy formation and exoplanets. It is expected to complement rather than replace Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope.
And then there's SpaceX's Starship programme.
SpaceX has been preparing for its next Starship flight test, with the company targeting another major test during this period and working towards increasingly ambitious reusable-launch capabilities.
There's also a new SpaceX launch complex planned for Louisiana, announced as a huge future Starship and satellite operation that could eventually support a much higher launch cadence.
Whatever your thoughts on the future of spaceflight, it's difficult not to look at what's happening and think:
We're living through some seriously interesting times.
AND THAT BRINGS US BACK TO COVER UP TOPS
This is what I love about creating Cover Up Tops.
A T-shirt can start with almost anything.
A hobby.
A film.
A memory.
A piece of technology.
A weird idea at 2am.
A conversation.
A festival.
A football match.
Or something happening millions of miles away.
The aim is to turn those inspirations into original designs that people actually want to wear.
Cover Up Tops now has 600+ original designs, with new artwork being added regularly.
You'll find collections covering:
🚀 Sci-fi & Space
👾 Cyberpunk
👽 UFOs & Paranormal
🎮 Gaming
🎧 Music, Clubbing & Festivals
💪 Fitness & Motivation
🎣 Hobbies & Interests
👻 Horror
📼 Retro Culture
⚽ Sport
😂 Humour
🌍 Travel & Lifestyle
And plenty more.
👕 Sizes S–XXL
🎨 Multiple colours
🌍 Free international delivery
💸 10% off for website subscribers
✨ 600+ original designs
Whether you're looking for something futuristic, funny, motivational, retro, weird or simply a T-shirt that feels like you — there's plenty to explore.
❤️ SUPPORT AN INDEPENDENT BRAND
Cover Up Tops is still an independent business, and every visit, purchase, follow, like, comment and share genuinely makes a difference.
If you've been following the journey, thank you.
If you've bought something — thank you.
If you've shared a post — thank you.
And if you're discovering Cover Up Tops for the first time…
Welcome!
I'd love you to explore the collections and see if something catches your eye.
👉 Visit the store:
🌐 www.coveruptops.store
And if you find something you like, consider supporting the brand by picking up a tee.
You won't just be buying a T-shirt.
You'll be supporting an independent creator, and if you have an idea for a future design, I'd love to hear it.
The universe is a pretty big place.
There are planets we haven't visited, galaxies we haven't properly understood, technologies that haven't been invented yet and questions we haven't even thought to ask.
And somewhere in all of that…
there's probably another T-shirt idea. 😂👕
Thanks for being part of the Cover Up Tops journey.
Keep looking up.
Keep being curious.
Keep creating.
And most importantly…
wear something that says something about you.
Cover Up Tops – Quality T-Shirts.
“If we don't stand for something, we fall for anything.”
🌐 Website: www.coveruptops.store
📱 TikTok: @coveruptops.store
📸 Instagram: @coveruptops.store
📺 YouTube: @coveruptops.store